Zen Buddhism aims at first-person knowledge, that is, the personal realization of one’s fundamental nature—who I really am. In this regard, it is not a sharable personal experience but, nevertheless, personally discoverable if one makes the right effort.
To make this fundamental nature sharable it has to be put into third-person knowledge which is impossible. An enlightened teacher would be required to give his or her student the same exact enlightened experience they had! But this can’t be done. An enlightened person is limited to explaining the Buddha’s enlightenment and even their own enlightenment with words. But this is not the same as actually giving a person enlightenment on demand.
This hasn’t sunk into the mind of beginners who believe that a good teacher can enlighten them or at least make the path easy for them so that in one or two years they become enlightened. Sorry, but the practice of Zen is not like going to college and getting a degree.
A beginner can read all the Zen books they want, even learning to read classical Chinese and Sanskrit. But this is not going to open a closed mind, that is, a mind loaded with prejudices, especially modern prejudices, such as there is no transcendent spirit or Buddha-nature which is what we really are. Nor will this same close mind admit to a conscious transmigrant that survives death only to be reborn and experience birth and death again in a vicious circle.
If anything, a good Zen teacher should help students learn how to read and understand Zen sermons and the discourses of the Buddha so that it becomes clear to the beginner just what Zen Buddhism is aiming at which they may not like. In this regard, skillful means is not like the holy lie but rather the skillful use of language to help orient the student in the right direction. And just what is that right direction? It is striving to awaken to your true nature which is eternal and undying.
I respect your perseverance.
Posted by: JK | December 31, 2017 at 09:03 PM
Still posting the same stuff, you never get bored do you. Anyway, happy New Year you old fool.
Posted by: JK | December 31, 2017 at 09:01 PM